SPICE
by RabelleRabbit
Summary: It started off with a stolen signature and a girl crazy older brother, but starting today college freshman Rosemarie is now sharing her grandparents' home with a male Extraspecies named Matia. He won't be the only one, and immediately Rosemarie becomes the host for them when her brother shifts responsibility onto her. It got worse when her new roommates start trying to...court her?
1. Chapter 1

**MissReaperDeath** : Credit goes to **peekodemeeko12** for helping out a lot for this story. Not only is she an amazing online friend, but she's also a phenomenal mentor-slash-writer. I would not have fully embraced my love for writing if it wasn't for her guiding me. Thank you.

Please enjoy the story everyone!

* * *

Do you happen to have a sibling, older or younger, that always drives you crazy every day of the week, and the second they start acting calm and nice, you know that they're definitely up to something?

Rosemarie was definitely experiencing that oddly specific feeling right about now about her older brother, Ross.

It was a Friday, and she knew that Fridays were days that Ross liked to go out and leave her and their little brother all day at home with their grandparents. Where did he go? She didn't know, and she didn't care, since he had the nerve to leave her alone at the house with her six year old little brother in the first place. He always came back home in the late evenings, anyways. This time, however, he was home the entire day, pacing around and always glancing at the clock as if waiting for second she spotted him situated by the front door, glued to his watch, Rosemarie knew there was something going on. And apparently it was coming very soon.

Before she could even ask, she caught the whiff of dinner burning and had to make a break for the oven.

Her chance came when she spotted Ross eating the vegetable lasagna by the front door wearing a clean pair of pants and button up shirt, on along with the faint hint of cologne.

"Hey, bro," Rosemarie approached him after leaving their little brother, Bailey, in the living room with the TV on. There was a Spongebob Squarepants episode on. Ross looked up at her, stuffing a fork of pasta into his mouth, "mind, uh, telling me why you're by the door?"

She felt herself caught off guard when he waved his fork at her with a grin. "It's a sur~prise!" Ross announced to her, and she found his excitement a bit unsettling, as Ross was never that optimistic about anything other than a social life. "You're just gonna have to wait."

Rosemarie shrugged and grinned up at her brother, "aw, come on, can't you just _fork_ over the news?" He casted her an annoyed look while she looked to the door, "did you order something online? I didn't know you had any money left to do that."

"It's much better than that." Ross cheekily snickered, peering through the window while stuffing more dinner down his throat. Rosemarie's eyes narrowed, her suspicion deepening. Ross was way too happy to be normal.

"What are you hiding, Ross?" Rosemarie demanded with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing~," he said, his grin only growing more and more wide by the second.

Rosemarie let her curiosity wash away, replacing it with feelings of being worried and concerned, "Are you positively sure? I don't want you doing anything that's gonna wreck the house," or Bailey, for that matter, "is it a dog? Did the neighbor's dog have a litter of pups?" Were they going to bring one tonight? She was not against having a pet, but she had at least hoped he told their grandparents ahead of time.

"No way, it's waaay better than a puppy," Ross said before holding out the now empty plate to his sister, "when I said it's a surprise, it's a surprise. It's gonna be here any second now."

"Nothing is better than a puppy, Ross."

Rosemarie took the plate from him, giving him a look. She glanced back, barely catching a glimpse of little Bailey in the living room. Rosemarie took a breath before looking at her gleeful brother, "now I really am worried about what this 'surprise' is."

"Don't be." He grinned, and just like that, a large black van pulled into the driveway. He excitedly gasped, leaping onto his feet as he grabbed his plate from her and rushed into the kitchen. After dumping the plate down into the sink, with Rosemarie flinching at how loud the clatter was, he darted into the living room with a grin, sitting down on the dangerously comfortable couch and grabbing the remote to change the channel as if trying to look casual.

Bailey, who had been sitting on the floor with his eyes on the channel, looked back at Ross with an annoyed huff, "no, Ross! Put back Spongebob! Change it back!"

"Shhh! They're coming any minute now!" Ross hushed him as Bailey crawled over to the couch and climbed on, reaching for the remote. Ross promptly pulled it out of reach, "hey! Stop! I'll change it back later, so sit down and be quiet!"

"Nooo! Spongebob!"

Rosemarie found herself preparing to head over and kick Ross off the couch when the doorbell rang, causing Ross to jump in his seat while holding Bailey down. "They're here!" Ross looked so excited that Rosemarie swore he could have keeled over from leaning forward too much, "Rosemarie, get the door, you're closer."

With that much excitement, she would have thought he would have jumped and lunge for the door like it was a piece of meat. "Ugh." Rosemarie heavily sighed and walked over to the door. The lock turned and Rosemarie swung the doors open, seeing a woman wearing shades and an Extraspecies standing there. He had a pale complexion, scales on the majority of his arms, legs and face, and his tail was long. It was almost twice his height. Rosemarie stared on in blankness as the woman in black beside this Extraspecies coughed, catching Rosemarie's attention.

"Hello, is this the Santini residence?" The woman in shades asked rather politely.

"It is-" Rosemarie managed to get in before being shoved aside as Ross took her spot at the door.

"Yes, this is the Santini residence," he said with a hopeful look to the sharply dressed woman before his eyes fell on the blindfolded person next to her. "Hello there, I'm Ross Santini," Ross said in a friendly tone as Rosemarie crossed her arms, giving her brother a look.

The blindfolded guest only stared at him before smiling, saying nothing in return.

"This is Matia, also known as a Basilisk-," Ms. Smith started before Ross gently took Matia's hand and pulled the reptile inside.

"That's great, I'll show Matia to her room while Rosemarie handles the deets." He brilliantly smiled, holding Matia's hand as he took the Basilisk back inside with him.

Rosemarie watched as the two walked through the living room, catching Bailey's attention, and she returned her gaze to the sharply dressed woman, "can I ask what's going on? Who are you, and why is my brother being so nice?"

"My name is Ms. Smith, I am with the Extraspecies Exchange program and I have just brought your family's first Extraspecies into your household. The others are being arranged, so please be patient for the time being." She cheerfully smiled before holding out a clipboard to her with a pen and paper, "please sign here. I have many other things to get to today." She said with a rather pleasant voice.

"Oh, sure. Sorry, you must be busy," Rosemarie said as she automatically took the clipboard and pen, taking a moment to stare at it before looking back up at Ms. Smith, "wait, did you say the Extraspecies Exchange Program...? When did we sign up for that?"

"We've received up to four signatures from this household a month or so ago. Surely you were told about the application being processed and the arrangements being held on this date, right?" Ms. Smith asked as she crossed her arms, that smile spreading on her lips.

"Of course...not." Rosemarie said as she began to read the paper, seeing that her name was indeed listed as a host for this Matia person, along with her grandparents and Ross. That weasel must have stolen a signature off of her while she was distracted. If her grandparents were in on this as well, then why didn't they tell her anything? "Well, I have heard about this program, I just didn't know it was still continuing after all the protests in America."

"Of course we are. We've been running this program for several years. A few little rallies aren't going to stop us, although some precautions are keeping us on our toes," the coordinator looked a bit stressed, but kept that smile on her face, "now about that paperwork, Ms. Santini."

"Call me Rosemarie, Ms. Santini is too formal," Rosemarie said as she signed the paperwork. If her grandparents already agreed to housing Extraspecies, then she supposed it was alright to just sign the paperwork. Signing her name on the signature line, Rosemarie watched as Ms. Smith snatched the papers back fluidly before taking the top papers and handing her the bottom stack of the pile. "What are these?" Rosemarie asked as she took the bottom stack.

"All the necessary files and paperwork, including your ID card that says you're an authorized host and information about Matia and his species. The agency's number and my work number are in there if any concerns pop up. I'll try to call ahead of time before I bring your next Extraspecies," Ms. Smith turned to leave before remembering something and looking back at Rosemarie, "oh, and be sure to tell your brother that Matia is a male Basilisk. It completely slipped my mind to tell him."

Oh this lady was good. Devilishly good. Rosemarie found herself grinning as Ms. Smith could only sport a calm smile, "Gotcha. Come by anytime you'd like for a cup of coffee, okay, Ms. Smith?"

"I will, thank you. Have a nice day." Ms. Smith said before she walked off. Rosemarie calmly shut the door, evilly grinning as she lazily walked into the living room where Bailey was just changing the channel back to Nickelodeon.

Bailey looked up to Rosemarie with big eyes, "Sissa?" She could only grin in pride at how cute her little brother was.

"I'm gonna go check on Ross and our new roommate. We'll watch a movie after dinner, okay?" Rosemarie said as Bailey vigorously nodded his head. With a pat on his head, Rosemarie left the living room and down the hall to the recently renovated room, most likely done for Matia. She walked up to the door, knocking on it.

Without even waiting for anyone to answer it, and she doubted Ross would even pry away to do so, she opened the door and stepped in, finding the room much larger than the other rooms in the house with a heated pool in the center. She caught sight of some steps that led to the upper part of the room that had some upstair study room filled with bookshelves stuffed with novels and encyclopedias and other kinds of reading material. It looked way better than what was available at the local library and her college's library combined.

She instantly spotted Matia and Ross over by the edge of the pool, with Matia facing the pool and Ross standing next to him with a hand on the Extraspecies shoulder.

 _Oh this is too priceless_ , Rosemarie thought.

Matia remained silent and still, not speaking a word as he simply smiled and nodded along to whatever Ross was talking about. Rosemarie wasn't sure if it was because Matia had no idea what was going on or if he was petrified that Ross was hitting on him.

"So you're a Basilisk? That's fascinating, really," Ross asked as Rosemarie rolled her eyes. She was sure that Ross had no clue what a Basilisk even was, "so have you ever been in a household before?"

Matia simply shook his head, continuing to smile as he looked around the room with enjoyment. Although the Basilisk, for one reason or another, was blindfolded as he looked around he appeared to know where things were by flicking his forked tongue out slightly and tasting the air.

"Any reason you're wearing a blindfold? I would definitely love to see those beautiful eyes of yours," Ross's arm around Matia's shoulder pulled Matia a bit closer, with the Basilisk unaware of Ross's advances. "I kind of noticed you haven't said much when you got here. Are you shy? That doesn't bother me, though. I do like shy girls, after all."

Rosemarie covered her mouth with her hands as her body shook with stifled, silent chuckles. The documents tucked under her arm screamed for her to give it to her brother to avoid making a bigger fool out of himself but she ignored it. She wondered if they even heard her knock or even knew she was there. Rosemarie regretted the fact that she had left her phone in the living room with Bailey. It would have made a nice blackmail material against Ross.

The basilisk's head turned in Rosemarie's direction, flicking his tongue out quickly to taste the air before he tilted his head and smiled rather mysteriously in her direction. Ross, annoyed at the interruption, turned to Rosemarie.

"Hey, Rosemarie, go away. You're making Matia nervous." He snapped.

Oh, now he noticed her? Rosemarie tried not to grimace as she weighed her options of leaving or giving the folder to Ross. Who knows, maybe the Basilisk was gay? Maybe the Basilisk was enjoying the attention. Through all those possibilities she had to remember that Ross was as straight as a ruler.

"Aw, didn't mean to." Rosemarie shrugged as Ross casted a sharp glare to her. "If I bother the Basilisk that much, I can leave."

"I think that would be best-," Ross agreed just as Matia slipped away from him and walked towards Rosemarie, causing both siblings to look confused, "uh, hey, what are you doing?"

Matia leaned over Rosemarie, bringing his lips just barely up to her ear.

"Please assist me, other host." A clearly deep whisper pleaded with her, seeming rather uncomfortable with what was happening.

Oh.

Rosemarie lifted a hand over her lips, trying to decide whether to giggle or laugh out loud. This is just complete comedy gold! With a wink, Rosemarie walked past Matia and began opening the folder, flipping to the page where it had Matia's profile, "hey, Ross. I found this _really_ interesting page about our Extraspecies here. Want to read? I highly suggest you do so if you really are a... _man_."

"Why would I want to read the paperwork if I can have fun with this beautiful young Extraspecies girl right here?" He asked with a grin, wrapping his arm around Matia's shoulders.

Rosemarie almost gasped as she reached out at the sudden contact Ross made with Matia, "Ross, wait-!"

Matia whipped his head around with a formidable hiss before grabbing Ross's shirt, lifting him into the air and off his feet.

"I resisted retaliating because I did not want to offend a host but if you continue to court me then you are mistaken in thinking I will accept it!" Matia's clearly deep, male voice hissed out as he continued to hold Ross where he was in the air with an incredible display of strength.

"Whu-ah-uh-you-!" Hearing Ross fumbling through his words in fear almost made Rosemarie guilty that she didn't just slap the paper in his face. She held up the folder for Ross to see, and his eyes locked onto it, only for realization to dawn on him. "He's a guy?!"

"Paperwork can sure be a blessing in a boring disguise, right?" Rosemarie asked as she closed the folder and tucked it under her arm, "you need to apologize to Matia, you know."

"There's no need. I was simply shocked to find a male trying to court with me the moment I entered the home." Matia sighed rather heavily as he set Ross down, adjusting his shirt back right, "in the future, please do not court with me. My interests do not lay with males." The Extraspecies said with a frown, folding his arms together.

"Way to be the bigger man, Matia. I'm so proud," Rosemarie complimented as she looked to Ross, "are you okay, Ross?"

"Do I look okay?!" Ross almost snapped as he grasped his chest, trying to control his rapid heaving. Rosemarie slightly flinched before brushing it off as Ross groaned and stepped away from Matia.

"I apologize for my rough behavior." Matia sighed before smiling, "my name is Matia and I will be your family's Extraspecies for some time. Please treat me well." He asked, keeping his claws to himself now.

"How can I treat you well when you just lifted me and threatened me?!" Ross retorted angrily as Rosemarie smacked his upper arm with the folder, "hey, it's your fault, too, Rose! You could have told me he was a guy in the beginning!"

"Yeah but you dragged him away and left me to deal with Ms. Smith," Rosemarie countered as Matia watched the growing argument between the two hosts, "you have no one to blame but yourself."

Ross's face bloomed in red, from both embarrassment and anger, as he raised a fist at her, "yo-you...you! Fine! But you know what, you can take care of this guy yourself!"

She definitely saw this coming, but she couldn't help but widen her eyes as Ross stomped out of the room like some disappointed and angry child, "wait, what?!"

"You heard me! I'm not helping! Good luck!" The door slammed closed and Rosemarie raised a hand and rubbed her forehead, feeling an oncoming headache.

"That guy can really act like a child..." Rosemarie huffed as she nestled the folder in her arms. Does it even work like that? He's technically the main host, and she was just a secondary host if he was absent from his obligations. She'd probably have to call Ms. Smith about this.

"I suppose I did too much." Matia sighed off to the side with a frown. Rosemarie snapped out of her thoughts and looked to the Basilisk. "I apologize for making such a rude entrance into your home but it upset me how he touched me." Matia said with a frown, appearing to be a little worried, "this is my first host home so I only reacted as I naturally would have. I forgot humans are more fragile than we Basilisk are."

Rosemarie glanced up to him and shook her head, "don't apologize. The only person who was rude was Ross. But hey, now this means you won't have to deal with him as often, Matia."

"Is he that bothersome in this household?" Matia asked as Rosemarie shrugged.

"Only the laziest of lazy siblings you could ever meet." Rosemarie said before gesturing to herself, "I don't think I introduced myself yet. I'm Rosemarie and since your original host bailed on you, I'll be your host from now on. Nice to meet you."

"Ah … well, I do look forward to being in your care." Matia said with a happy smile, "this is your home, then?"

"Not mine, this is my grandparent's home." She said.

"Ah, Santini's? I met them when they came to see Ms. Smith about joining the program." Matia said with a happy smile that slowly faltered and twitched, "they seemed oddly enthusiastic."

"They were always like that. Crazy and old." Rosemarie said as she scratched the back of her head, wondering what kind of impression her grandparents left on Matia. Judging from that failing smile, it was the opposite of a good impression.

"But rather entertaining, nonetheless." Matia said with a smile, "where are they now? I should properly introduce myself to them now that I am in their territory."

"If I had to guess, they're probably speeding down a hill on a stolen shopping cart." Rosemarie answered the Basilisk with the utmost serious face. Usually when she told people that, they never took her seriously and brushed her off, despite it being the truth.

"Shopping cart? What is that?" He asked, tilting his head rather curiously. His bandages fell aside as she openly stared at his blindfolded head.

"It's like a cart with wheels, but for real man, what's up with the blindfold? Is there a problem with your eyes?" Rosemarie asked as she crossed her arms and tilted her head, continuing to openly staring at the blindfold.

"I do not know what a cart is … it sounds interesting," he said before playfully tilting his head, "did you not more thoroughly read the paperwork?" He asked as the tip of his tail flickered back and forth.

"I got them today, actually. No one told me that we were taking part in the program you're in." Standing up straight, she slipped the folder out from her arm and stared at it. It was definitely thick, probably with tiny font and printed on both sides. This was going to be a pain, wasn't it? "Sorry, I guess."

"It's not a problem, I was merely curious. But I will tell you this; I wear the blindfold for your own protection. Specialized glasses of mine will not be in for another week, or so Smith says." He said gesturing towards the bandage on his face.

Specialized glasses? Rosemarie hummed in understanding as she gave the folder another glance, "so hopefully, you'll get to take that blindfold off sooner or later?"

"Yes but this is fine; Basilisks are highly attuned to knowing their surroundings without their eyes." He said with a shrug, "I know where most things are through my other senses. Is it the same with you humans?" He curiously asked, leaning towards her before his tongue flicked out, tapping against her nose before it retreated back into his mouth.

"Not at all. Our five senses are weak compared to yours." Rosemarie snickered as she added, "but I doubt your senses will help you see what a shopping cart is."

"Hmm~ I suppose not." He playfully mused before he stretched, pausing, "Ms. Smith said you ran a business here in front of your home. What sort of business is it?"

"Oh, that old shop? It's just an herbal shop my grandparents run in the morning. Really unimportant," she reached out and grabbed Matia's hand when his arms fell to his sides, "since you're living with us now, you gotta meet my brother."

"But I've already met your brother," Matia struggled to hide his discomfort at the idea of Ross, but Rosemarie shook his hand excitedly.

"No, not Ross. My baby brother."

"How many siblings do humans usually have? Many or a few?" He curiously asked, standing up along with Rosemarie as she started guiding him out of the room.

"Some families have a lot, some have a few, and some have just one. Sometimes they don't have children and sometimes they adopt, but my family has three. Ross, me, and little Bailey." Quickly arriving into the living room, she found the small boy sitting in front of the television, "Baby bear, meet our new roommate. His name is Matia. Matia, this is Bailey."

"How interesting." Matia said, walking over to the little boy without hesitation. He crouched down, leaning in and sniffing the little boy before flicking his tongue out as a greeting and licking the little boy's cheek, "he tastes young. How old is he?" Matia ask, reaching out and touching Bailey.

Bailey looked quite shocked that he was just licked before looking to Rosemarie, and his sister simply shrugged. "You're weird," Bailey bluntly said before grinning, "how can you taste 'young'? What does that taste like?"

"Succulent." Matia simply said with a straightlaced smile. Bailey stared at him, puzzled before looking at Rosemarie.

"What does succulent mean?" Bailey asked, rubbing his cheek while Matia leaned closer to him, flicking his tongue out a few times and memorizing the taste of the air.

"Matia, watch what you say," Rosemarie smacked the folder against Matia's back.

"Was that not correct in saying?" He asked, puzzled as he turned his head back towards her.

"I'm not sure being complimented like a steak is something you say to a six year old toddler." Rosemarie said as Bailey picked up the remote and lowered the volume on the television.

"I fail to see the difference," Matia said with a straight laced expression before lightly laughing, "ah, now I remember what those lessons were about. You think I'd consider eating any of you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're gonna eat us?" Bailey asked with big eyes.

"Of course not. While humans do smell awfully good due to their excellent hygiene, they actually taste quite bad," he cheerfully reassured, poking Bailey on the tip of his nose, "so no, I will not eat you. I want to be, as humans say, friends instead."

Like any friendly six year old, Bailey rapidly nodded, with Rosemarie fearing that he may pop his neck, "okay! Let's be friends!"

"Good." Matia happily grinned, showing off his gleaming fangs and rather sharp teeth. Bailey's eyes glowed with interest.

"Can you bite through a can with your big teeth?" Bailey asked with curiosity. Those teeth looked really sharp, and though children would be afraid, Bailey didn't seem to know the word 'dangerous'.

"I don't know what a can is but I can try," Matia said, now sounding rather curious, "may I have a can to try it on?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Bailey excitedly chirps, forgetting about the cartoon program on the TV as Rosemarie chuckles.

"I dunno about that, you two-," Rosemarie found herself interrupted when Ross's voice interrupted the friendly atmosphere that had been happily washing over them.

"I thought you were giving me a _female_ Extraspecies!" Ross shouted into the phone, catching everyone's attention as they stare into the kitchen where Ross was on the phone.

" _Oh? I remember you signing the contract asking for an Extraspecies of any kind; your grandparents seemed quite thrilled with the open selection you were offered. Are you saying you want to switch Matia out with someone else?"_ A voice from the speakerphone asked out loud while Ross growled, too worked up to notice.

"Well, could that be possibly arranged?" Ross asked as Bailey looked up at Rosemarie with a panicked look in his eyes.

"Sissa…? Is Rossie trying to make Mattie go away…?" The child asked as Rosiemarie gave Matia a glance, finding the Extraspecies very quiet and still.

" _Of course. If Matia proves to be a threat to the family in any way or if there is a hostile environment we are required by law to remove the Extraspecies and replace him or her with a better suited Extraspecies. However, unless the main Host agree to the switch, I cannot rightfully assign you a different Extraspecies."_ The woman over the phone answered, sounding rather tired.

"Oh, come on. I _am_ the main Host! Put Ms. Smith on the phone, please," Ross asked as his voice fell into a hush.

" _Not according to your records; it says here a Mr. Georgio Santini and a Mrs. Isabella Santini are the primary hosts for your family unit."_

"That's not right! I was told I would be a main host!"

"Bay, go show Matia your cool action figures. I'll handle Ross," Rosemarie said as she gently took Bailey's hand and placed it on Matia's hand, "show him your room."

"Okay. Come on, Mati, I just got a really cool Transformers toy! It's Optimus Prime!" Bailey excitedly grinned, tugging the reptile along as he offered a small tilt of his head towards kitchen but said nothing as he followed Bailey into his room.

With an angry spring in her step, Rosemarie charged into the kitchen with a gleam in her eye, targeting Ross to face her terror. Does that guy only think through his crotch or something? He hadn't noticed her coming in, his attention focused on trying to get his way with the representative on the phone.

"Isn't there a loophole or anything? I signed the papers with my grandparents. There _has_ to be something I can do since my name is on the documents!" Ross insisted, but the representative was having none of it.

" _I'm sorry sir, but unless Matia proves to be either unfit or a menace to the hosts I cannot help you. Have a good day."_ The woman said before the firm sound of a click was heard.

"She hung up on me! Well fine! What was Grandpa's number again…?" Ross muttered to himself as he began to dial some numbers. Goodness, he was determined, wasn't he?

So was she.

Rosemarie snatched the phone from his hands, and Ross whipped around to face her. With a hand, holding the folder, on her hip and the phone in the other, Rosemarie offered him a look. "Care to explain your actions? You're not being a good host to Matia, you know."

"Hey, I went in there, signed the proper paperwork and filled out packet after packet f-for- well, definitely _not_ for some freaky lizard!" He irritably snapped at her.

"Excuse me? Are you going through some sort of culture shock, Ross?" She slapped the folder against his chest, giving him an irritable glare, "so you're just gonna throw a tantrum since you didn't get your hot, Extraspecies babe?"

"Hey, wow, I didn't ask for a hot babe, although it would be a nice perk," he muttered off to the side, "but still, I didn't realize we were going to get some, s-some dangerous reptile! I thought we were going to get some kind of bunny o-or cat or even a dog of some kind." He snapped, "what if that thing tries to eat Bailey, huh?"

"Matia happens to be quite gentle with baby Bay. They even befriended each other, you know." She gave a proud smile before jamming the phone into Ross's chest, "I don't think eating Bay ever crossed his mind, Ross. He's harmless."

 **BANG**

No sooner had she finished speaking there was a thunderous bang down the hall, followed by the starting up cries of Bailey. Both Ross and Rosemarie immediately perked up before Ross shot down the hall startlingly fast first, following closely by Rosemarie before Ross burst through his little brother's room.

"HEY! What did you do?!" Ross shouted, marching over as Rosemarie came in, seeing Matia standing beside a fallen heavy bookshelf with Bailey crying on the ground.

"Bay!" Rosemarie rushed over, scooping up Bailey, cradling the sobbing boy, as Matia turned to face Ross. "Baby bear, are you hurt?"

"Fuh-Fuuuuhhhh!" Words came out in a jumble of incoherent pieces from the bawling child, and she didn't have time to solve the puzzle as she coddled the boy.

"Humans cry when they are in distress, right?" Matia asked, appearing rather puzzled as he stared at the boy with little to no reaction.

"Of course they do! He's clearly frightened!" She didn't mean to snap, and she let out a sigh to calm herself, "Matia. What happened here?" Rosemarie had noticed the fallen bookshelf, but she rather hear what had actually happened.

"Why bother asking? He probably tried to crush Bay underneath the bookshelf!" Ross accused as Rosemarie shot him a glare.

"Excuse me, but was I talking to you?" Rosemarie snapped and Ross rolled his eyes, looking away from her. With a scoff, she turn to give Matia a soft smile despite the fact he probably couldn't see it. "Sorry about that...go ahead."

"One of boy's toys fell behind the dresser of books so I pushed it over to get it for him." Matia simply answered without a pause in beat, clearly not understanding why the boy was crying.

"You pushed the bookshelf over?" Rosemarie asked as Ross reached out and shook her shoulder.

"Rose, he just said that he pushed it over! It could have crushed Bay!" Ross once again accused as Rosemarie responded by slapping his hand off. Ross looked a bit unsettled by her action but continued pushing his accusation, "Rose, he's dangerous to Bay. Look what happened!"

"Just shut it!" Rosemarie hissed before gently cradling Bay, "hey, it's alright. I'm here, Bay. You're fine. What happened?"

"I just told you what happened. The little human dropped a toy behind the dresser of books and I got it for him," Matia said, holding up a small plastic toy halfway transformed between a car and a robot.

"I know that, but I'm asking Bay this time," Rosemarie responded as she coaxed the boy to stop the flowing tears. The small child let out soft whimpers, clinging to her for comfort, and Ross looked irritated. "I want to hear what Bay saw what happened."

"You don't need to! This overgrown lizard wasn't careful and almost crushed Bay! Why aren't you listening to me?" Ross hissed as Rosemarie let out an irritated scowl. Did he not see her busy with comforting their little brother?

"I don't understand why you are so distressed." Matia said with a frown forming as his tail lashed around behind him slowly but methodically.

With big drops of tears rolling down Bay's cheeks, the child stuttered out to Matia, "Th...Thu...The noise w-wa-was really l-l-lo-loud and scary!"

"The noise?" Rosemarie asked as Bay slowly nodded at her, and she carefully reached a hand up, brushing his tears away, "so you weren't hurt?"

"N-no… everythi-thing fell over and made a loud noise and it sca-scared me…!" Bay sputtered out as Rosemarie let out a sigh of relief. "I di-didn't mean to cry…"

"No, you were scared, and you're still little. So it's okay to cry." Rosemarie coddled over the child before darting her eyes to Ross, "he's fine."

"But that still doesn't take away the fact that Matia wasn't careful!" Ross pressed as Rosemarie sighed, hanging her head.

"I am aware humans are more fragile than most Extraspecies, _Ross_." Matia stated with a slight hiss deep in his chest that made both Rosemarie and Ross lean away from him in surprise, "so I will be more careful from now on." He said with the hissing stopping.

"Th-Thank you, Matia. If something like this happens again, just ask me to help. See, I knew a bookshelf in Bay's room was dangerous," Rosemarie sighed as Ross grumbled under his breath.

Matia remained silent as his tail flicked back and forth, seeming to be thinking about something rather hard before he tilted his head, "I will do that then." He said before standing up and promptly leaving, returning to his room for a bit.

"Is...is Mati mad at me?" Bay asked as Rosemarie walked over to Bay's bed and sat down, letting him sit on her lap.

"No. I don't think so. More importantly, are you mad at him?" Rosemarie asked her baby brother as Ross looked at her, baffled.

"Cut the mother persona, Rose! He didn't even apologize!" Ross scowled as Rosemarie set Bay next to her, holding the folder up.

"I'll go talk to him, then. I need you to not attack everyone with accusations without hearing the entire story. Can you do that?"

"Whatever. Come on, Bay, let's go watch some TV." Ross huffed, picking up the boy and carrying him to the living room.

Rosemarie pinched the bridge of her nose, counting to ten, and began heading over to Matia's room. This must be what a host has to do, confront their charges about stuff like this. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door lightly.

"Hey, can I come in?" She asked, listening to the silence.

"If you must." Matia answered. Rosemarie stepped inside, finding him resting under the large heat lamp installed just for him.

Rosemarie shut the door behind her, approaching him and despite the large heat lamp being occupied by the lean Basilisk Extraspecies, she could feel the heat of the lamp on her skin. She stopped where she was and offered a smile, despite knowing that he couldn't see. She spotted Bay's toy resting in Matia's hands.

"I'm sorry about Ross, Matia. He's not being friendly at all, is he?" Rosemarie chuckled, but stopped when Matia was silent. "Hey, he gets like this all the time. He's just as much of a pain to me as he is to you," Rosemarie tried to reassure.

" … it is not that he isn't friendly that bothers me. It's the fact I cannot retaliate or else I will be the one in trouble." He stiffly frowned as his ears twitched irritably. "I was told the humans would be the alpha of their territories and naturally I desired to fight him for it. However, I know that humans are weak and I cannot fight him to make him understand that I am stronger than he is so he will submit and we were taught not to fight over territories and instead to share, which is very strange and unnatural. It is all very irritating." He heavily sighed, curling his spine for a stretch before he turned with his back towards Rosemarie.

"Oh, I see. Well, it is your first time in a host family, so I can see why you're having difficulties adjusting…" Rosemarie trailed off as Matia spoke up.

"But do you really, Host? Do you understand how difficult it is for a predator to move in with a bunch of prey and not be expected to exert dominance over them?" He said with a stiff frown, resting his chin on his palm as he turned towards her, laying on his stomach, "it's not easy readjusting myself to all this."

So much for empathy. "...No, because I'm not a predator." Rosemarie sighed as she sat right down on the floor, "I have no idea what it feels."

"You had the look of a predator when you ran straight for the child." Matia noted, and though he said it dryly, Rosemarie thought he was saying it as a joke.

She laughed.

Matia said nothing, only staring at her blankly and without a change of expression as he pondered why she laughed when he was serious.

The air grew silent again, and it became uncomfortable after a while. Rosemarie rubbed the side of her neck and glanced up at him.

Rosemarie chuckled softly before her face pushed away any dry laughter she tried to squeeze out. "I... really am sorry about what happened back there. I knew you wouldn't want to hurt Bay. It's my fault for having Bay take you to his room."

"It is nothing that you should apologize for." Matia said, turning his head away. In truth he wanted to scare Bay a little bit to see his reaction to a loud noise but it seemed that little impulse almost hurt him instead. He'd have to take care not to cause that sort of trouble again.

"Yes it is. I'm your Host. I should have known better." she crossed her arms, "I knew that his room was a bit small, and you could have knocked stuff over. You're wearing a blindfold, for goodness sake. I should have known that something might have happened, even with your heightened senses."

He fell silent, thinking that she was the type of person to shoulder the problems when he heard her shuffle closer, he was almost surprised when she placed her warm hands on his cheeks to tilt his head towards her direction.

"Still, what were you thinking?! You just shoved the bookshelf over? What would have happened if Bay was right under it? Heightened senses or no heightened senses, that was careless, Matia." If only he could see through the blind would she waggled a finger at him. "Be more careful."

"Bay was on the other side of the room." He pointed out in annoyance.

"i know that, but it was still dangerous to have just shove it over. A lot of 'what if's' can happen in a situation like that."

"Predators do not think about 'what ifs'. Predators think in 'definites' and 'chances'. Once something has happened, it's happened and there is nothing more to it." Matia explained.

"You're not going to take a 'chance' with my Bailey. What's done is done, and I'm not mad at you, but I'm begging you to be more careful with Bay. He's a little boy. He still thinks there's a bogeyman in his closet," Rosemarie said as Matia let out a confused sound.

"A who?" Matia asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Never mind. Humans are a lot more different than what you're used to. Children are more fragile than whatever children you've seen in your kind are. So keep that in mind, Matia. I want to make this work." Rosemarie said before patting his cheeks for good measure and stepped back.

"I will but who is this bogeyman scaring the little human?" He asked, seeming more concerned with that. "Can I kill him?" He asked, tilting his head. Rosemarie's mouth gaped at him, looking at the Basilik in shock. He awaited for her answer before the host giggled.

….this is so precious.

Rosemarie chuckled, "I'll show you when your glasses get here. You need visuals for this."

"I am perfectly capable of sensing whatever this bogeyman is. Where is he?" Matia asked, sounding more irritated as he continued to think seriously about this.

"It's a movie, Matia."

" … movie?" He asked, tilting his head again, "can I taste one?" He asked.

"I heard of people having tastes in movie, but not in the literal tastes of movies." She laughs a bit before shaking her head, "it's more of visuals, Matia." Rosemarie glances around the large renovated room before spotting a TV up at the study area of the enormous room. It looked really expensive. Jealous. "Oh cool, you have a TV in here. I'll bring the movie over when Ms. Smith brings your glasses. Then you'll understand what a boogeyman is."

"What TV?" Matia asked, sounding a little frustrated as Rosemarie walked over to the television set up and turned it on. Matia immediately became attentive, concentrating in her direction as a babble of words began coming through the speakers. " … Rosemarie, come here." He said, walking over to her.

"Why?" Rosemarie asked as she turned to him in confusion.

Matia pulled her into a hug, covering her eyes with his scaly hand before he lifted his blindfold up a bit, staring at the television set.

"Oh! Yes, I know what a television is. I've seen pictures." He said, readjusting his blindfold before letting Rosemarie go.

Rosemarie took a step back, looking up at him in confusion, "did you pull your blindfold down?"

"To look at the television, yes. I am wearing this for your protection, after all. Perhaps you should take a look at the information given to you earlier." Matia insisted as Rosemarie shrugged. Looks like she'll pull an all nighters or something.

"Before I do," she stretched her arms out, feeling herself wear out, "a certain little kid thinks you're mad at him. Why don't you go and see him. It'll be a good chance to return his toy."

"Hmm … alright, I'll do that. But Ross is with him right now." Matia said with a grimace.

"How do you know that?" Rosemarie asked, puzzled.

"I can taste it." He said, flicking his tongue out like a snake before whipping it back into his mouth. He let out a sigh, however, standing up. "Get me some of these movies. I'm going to watch some with Bailey." He said as he trotted out of his room.

Without a pause in stride the walked into the living room right past Ross before picking up a surprised Bay.

"Hey! Put my little brother down!" Ross jumped off the couch, looking at the Basilisk Extraspecies with a glare.

"No." Matia stated in a rather monotone voice as he simply walked away with the boy, walking into his room before setting Bailey down on a thick and comfortable cushion. Rosemarie had quickly compiled a bit stack of her and Bay's favorite movies, laying them out perfectly for Matia.

"We're going to watch some movies together. Help me pick a good one." He said as Bay crouched down, looking at the movie selection.

Stumbling to the door, Ross barged into Matia's room, "Hey! I don't appreciate you just taking my brother-"

"It'll be fine, I'll watch over them. Go hang out with your friends or something," Rosemarie said as she quickly approached her brother and shoved him out the door, closing the door in front of his protesting face. Turning around, she walked back to them and sat next to Bay, "any movie you want, Bay."

"I wanna watch this one!" Bay held the movie above his head like a trophy. Ah, Edward Scissorhands, a classic.

"Sure. Put it in." Matia said with a smile, clearly having no idea what he picked. Rosemarie popped the disc into the DVD player and settled down with her brother and new roommate for the movie.

* * *

A very loud burst of laughter made Rosemarie's eyes burst wide open, glaring at the wall in her room as Matia's thick rolling laughter filled the house at 2 in the morning. She irritably threw her blanket off, causing the papers she had been reading before passing out scatter to the floor, stomping over towards Matia's room before pounding on the door.

"Matia! Are you _still_ watching movies?!"

When she received only laughter she burst into the room, finding the dim glow of the TV lighting the room while Bay sat on Matia's lap, both of them laughing away at the boogeyman playing on the TV.

"Y-You're right, Matia! This isn't that scary!" Bay cheerfully cried as Matia pinched his cheek with a grin.

"Exactly. So there's no need to be scared of something like that." He said as his tail wrapped around Bay's body, offering a small hug with his scaly tail instead of his sharply clawed hands.

It was like, two in the morning, and though what she saw was heartwarming, she needed to repeat herself again.

It's **two** in the morning.

"Bailey Santini, what are you doing up this late at night?! You should be in bed, young man. It's a school night!"

"B-But I'm watching movies with Matia! It's so much fun!" He eagerly grinned as Matia nodded, tying the blindfold over his face again, which caught Rosemarie's attention.

"You took your blindfold off? I thought you said it was there for protection." Rosemarie said, puzzled.

"It was and still is. I wanted to actually watch some movies so I was just careful not to let Bay see me." Matia answered rather half heartedly.

" … fine. I haven't really finished reading everything, but have it your way. And you," Rosemarie pointed to Bay before directing her finger to the door, "to bed. Right now."

"Awe~! Can we please finish watching this first? Pleeeease?" He begged as he rolled off of Matia's lap, clasping his hands together in a begging motion.

Don't do the puppy eyes.

Don't you _dare_ do the puppy eyes.

"Pweeeease?~~~"

It was amazing how Bay could pull off the 'kicked puppy' look. Rosemarie felt her determination and responsibility melt away by just one look.

"Oh, alriiiight!" She threw her hands up in defeat as Bay looked as though he had gotten exactly what he wanted from Santa on Christmas morning. "But don't think you can do this again, Bay. Just this once."

"Thank you!" Bay cried in joy as Rosemarie walked over and settled herself next to him. She wanted to make sure that Bay went straight to bed after the movie. Brushing back her messy hair, she focused on the creepy, old movie, hearing Bay and Matia laugh at the 'once feared by all children', Bogeyman.

She felt her eyes droop, no longer focusing on the movie. She couldn't last even two minutes. Rosemarie had to kindly remind herself that it was literally two in the morning.

Matia stayed awake for some time through and after the movie but his new human host family didn't make it through. Both of them had fallen asleep to either side of him, out like a fresh kill before he turned the television off, laying down between them and grinned. Their body temperatures felt so nice. With a satisfied hum he pulled them body close, falling asleep while taking advantage of their body heat.

* * *

 **MissReaperDeath** : If you liked what you read, then please please please leave a favorite and review. It really helps me out more than you think it does.

Also! Check out **peekodemeeko12** 's story ALWAYS READ THE FREAKING CONTRACT! It's co-written by the brilliant **chaos-dark-lord** and it's super good. I recommend you to read it, and also check out their other stuff.

 **Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**MissReaperDeath** : Hi everyone, it's me. Your favorite reaper girl, back at it again with these updates. College is over for me, and I'm stressed thinking about the final grade. But I'm taking a break from stressing (I'm actually not…) to bring a new chappy out! Enjoy.

* * *

"YAHOOOOOOOO OH MAMA!" Ross screamed out of nowhere, making Rosemarie flinch as her eyes cracked open. Sunlight filtered through the window as she wavered to her feet, finding herself alone on the cushion within Matia's room. Where did they go? Rosemarie slowly blinked, wiping the drool away from her chin.

"R-Really?! Matia, this is great! You're going to have a friend!" Baisley shouted excitedly as Rosemarie perked up. Friend? What friend? She groggily staggered to her feet, stretching herself out before walking out into the hallway where she saw Ross performing his happy dance while Bay joined him, spinning around while excitedly laughing. Matia sat on the couch, looking rather bored and a little unhappy.

"What's going on you guys?" Rosemarie asked, looking at the clock before her eyes bulged out of her head. "BAY! Get outside, right now! Don't you dare miss the bus!" Rosemarie shouted as Bay grabbed his lunchbox, running out of the house while excitedly cheering towards his bus stop. Rosemarie zipped outside, watching him just barely make it to his bus stop before the bus turned the corner to pick him up. She let out a relieved sigh before turning to glare at her stupidly grinning older brother. "Why are you so happy? And who made his lunch? It better not be a lunchable."

"It's a lunchable. But guess what? We're getting another Extraspecies!" He excitedly grinned, widening his eyes out as if presenting a gift, as Rosemarie froze in place, processing what he just said.

Another Extraspecies already? Rosemarie felt her eye twitch. No, they JUST got Matia.

"WHAT?!" She shouted, startled before looking over to Matia who looked away in annoyance.

"I was calling the complaint line the entire night and instead of Matia being taken out, Ms. Smith finally answered and said that she could work in a herbivore! Isn't that awesome?! It's going to be a goat!" He grinned, pulling out his phone and looking at some photos of goat chicks while grinning excitedly. "Rosemarie, check out that rack! This is going to be awesome!"

"You're _disgusting_ ," Rosemarie instantly retorted at him. She felt sorry for those on the complaint line.

"What are you talking about, this will be great! And until the goat's room is set up, she'll be able to stay in my room." Ross grinned excitedly with stars in his eyes, trembling in excitement.

Rosemarie rolled her eyes. This female goat would most certainly not be staying in Ross's room. If anything, most likely the goat girl would be staying in her room. Rosemarie sighed, glancing to Matia, wondering if the Basilisk was alright. She'll have to check on him later.

Her gaze returned to her brother, the idiot scrolling through his phone. Was there a way to prevent this? Probably not. It's already done, and there was no point in talking sense in Ross, though, so she just smacked Ross square in the chest, "You almost made Bay miss the bus!"

"Hey, that was his own fault," Ross cheerfully pouted without the slightest sense of remorse, though he was rubbing his chest. Her right jab was said to be amazingly painful.

"You're just as responsible for him as I am. So do your job right," she scowled.

"Oh don't be such a scrooge! Missing a day of school wouldn't have killed him. Bay actually wanted to stay and meet our new roommate. Oh well, he'll just have to wait to come home to meet the cutie." He grinned as, moments later, a large U-haul truck parked out front.

The speed of this agency is almost frightening, Rosemarie thought as she just watched the workers climb out the truck. Ross grinned in excitement, leaping past Matia as he glued his head to the window excitedly. Matia let out an irritated sigh, walking past Rosemarie and into the kitchen. Concerned, she followed after him.

"Matia, are you alright? You've been wearing that frown since I got here," Rosemarie noted as Matia carefully opened the cupboard, holding a cup. She took the cup from him, with the Extraspecies giving her a confused look. Quickly, she got a water bottle out of the fridge, pouring it into the cup and handing it to him. "What's gotten your tail in a knot?" Rosemarie asked as she set the bottle of water onto the kitchen counter in case he wanted more.

"Just irritated of how that male likes to treat me like some sort of possession and toy." He said with a low bearing hiss, clearly containing himself as he sipped on the water.

"You have every right to be, and I'll kick Ross's butt later for you, but you're not bothered by another Extraspecies coming here?" Rosemarie asked as she leaned against the kitchen bench, raising an eyebrow at Matia. He tipped his head back, tapping a finger to his lower lip.

"Hrmm~ not really." He said with a shrug, seeming uncaring either way before pausing, "ah, the program said to at least attempt making friends. I guess I could do that." Matia said, flicking his long tail to either side in thought.

"This is so awesome, I can't wait!" Ross cheered, bounding over to the door and opening it for the movers. Rosemarie rolled her eyes noticing Matia pawing at the honeydew melon they had in the kitchen. Grabbing her knife, she reached over and began slicing it up for Matia as a mover with a shiny badge on his shirt came inside.

"Mornin' folks. We're just here to start setting up the room. Pardon us." The man in the front said as a long line of men began walking down the hall with furniture and other necessities for a room into the space besides Matia's room.

"Hey man, do you know when the chick will be here?" Ross asked, catching the attention of the manager for the room.

"Chick?" He asked, staring at Ross. After studying him for a few moments he boisterously started laughing, "ah, you mean the Extraspecies. I'd say about … ten minutes or so?" He said, looking at his watch.

"Awesome." Ross grinned as the manager let out a gruff laugh before heading towards the renovating room.

"I wonder what this goat Extraspecies is gonna look like," Rosemarie asked with feign interest, watching Ross pace around to burn off some energy. Matia was currently stuffing his face with the juicy melon slices.

"Hey, I'm going to go hop in the shower real fast, let me know when she gets here." He grinned before looping down the hall and leaping into his bedroom quickly to make himself look more presentable.

Rosemarie let out a heavy sigh before she tied her hair up into a small bun. She went straight to her room, collecting the scattered papers from the floor and neatly stacking them together before returning to the living room. Matia was placing the cup and the empty fruit plate in the sink, and their new roommate hadn't arrived yet, so Rosemarie went ahead and sitting on the couch while Matia stretched himself out over the couch before laying his head in her lap, pointedly looking in her direction. Despite the blindfold it felt like his gaze and burning right through her.

" … what?" Rosemarie asked as she raised the papers above her gaze to look at this suddenly needy Basilisk.

"Pet me." He said, turning over to give her his back while he laid over her lap to keep her from escaping.

"You're a Basilisk, not a dog," Rosemarie refused initially, looking at him. Lizards are sort of related to a Basilisk, right? You don't see people petting them very much.

"Please, Ms. Host?" He asked with a teasing smile as his tail flipped around, curling around her wrist gently and motioning her closer to his shoulders.

An amused grin left her as she began petting him, the papers set aside, rolling her palms around his shoulders and up the back of his neck. He let out a pleased hum and melted under her working hands, clearly pleased as his eyes slid shut while he smiled.

After a few minutes of this, Rosemarie looked outside and saw a trailer park in front of the house. She watched as Ms. Smith opened the back, allowing a rather tall, four legged goat Extraspecies hop out of the back. Her eyes bulged wide open, seeing the goat sporting red, gold and green checkered leg warmers along with a bow and quiver on his back. She held in her hysterical laughter, thanking Ms. Smith in the back of her head as she saw the goat clearly be a male.

Rosemarie remained smug as she got up, leaving a sleepy Matia on the couch as she opened the door, finding Ms. Smith approaching with the other Extraspecies.

"Ah, good morning, Ms. Rosemarie. I hope Matia is fitting in nicely with the home?" Ms. Smith asked as she stepped inside with the curious goat man looking around the house with a smile.

"Yes. He is. And Bailey adores him," Rosemarie cheerfully says with a big smile. This was going to be hysterical.

When the goat Extraspecies saw her he brilliantly smiled, trotting over to her. She bent back a bit, finding him to be easily two or even three feet taller than she was. He leaned down, taking up her hand with a smile.

"Top of the morning to you, lass. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said with a deeply enriched Irish accent.

"Rosemarie, this is Doran. He is a feral goat from the highlands of Ireland. We know he is a mixture of both a goat and a ram but we are not sure just by how much. In other words, he's a mutt - in the hooman sense of the word." Ms. Smith cheerfully smiled introduced as Doran stood to his full height. He had short black hair and a nice arrangement of clean cut beard trailing along his jawline with a small goatee on his chin. On either side of his head were large curling and magnificent ram horns along with the ears of a goat as well. His body was startlingly well sculpted, lean but muscular feeding into the rest of his body which was that of either a goat or a ram; the hair was long and thick with the main part of his belly being a light tan but his legs and belly a rich black.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rosemarie." Rosemarie squeezed Doran's hand before letting go when a folder was pushed towards her, courtesy of Ms. Smith. Ah, must be Doran's information.

"I know Doran will be an excellent fit in your home and I hope you will take excellent care along with him and Matia." She said as Doran spotted the sleepy Matia on the couch. He trotted over to the couch, circling it once to get a good look at his roommate before he looked back to Rosemarie and Ms. Smith.

"I thought you said there'd more more of them, love." He said as his ears twitched, listening to the sounds of the house.

"My grandparents are away for the time being and Ross is in the shower. Bay already left for school but you'll see him this afternoon when he comes home." Rosemarie assured as the goat Extraspecies cheekily grinned.

"Sounds great! Mind if we go for a short walk, lass? I want to take a look at the neighborhood here." He asked, crouching down a bit and looking outside through the window.

"Oh, of course. Maybe you want to come along, Matia? It's supposed to be a warm day," Rosemarie offered, and spotted Matia with a soft frown across his face as he sprawled all over the couch.

"Hrmmph … I'm going to go take a nap on the roof instead. I'm sleepy now." He sleepily stretched as Doran hopped outside, already eager to start bounding off soon.

"Best you go hang on to him. He likes to jump to really high places so be aware of that." Ms. Smith lightly smiled, "go ahead with him; I'll stay and get Mr. Ross's signature." She happily smiled.

"I can sign it now," Rosemarie held her hand out, knowing that once Ross finds out the gender of the Extraspecies, he'd refuse.

"Alright, just sign here." Ms. Smith said as she handed the pen and paperwork to her. Rosemarie quickly signed the paperwork before Ms. Smith glanced outside, seeing Doran crouching down a bit. "Might want to hurry up, he looks like he'll start running soon." Ms. Smith teased as Rosemarie looked outside, startled as Doran shot up into the air and out of view. "I'll lock the door for you. Just be quick to get to him, alright?"

"Did he just jump?!" She hurried outside, feeling her skin grow warm with nervousness at the idea that she had just lost the Extraspecies in less than five minutes. She looked up at Doran balancing on the telephone pole easily as he looked around the neighborhood with an excited grin. Oh _hell_ no - !

"Dude what the fuck - !" Rosemarie shouted up to him, shocked as Doran turned her way. What if he falls?! Ross isn't here to get the blame pinned on him if Doran does fall!

"Not doing anything wrong up here, just taking in the view!" He happily laughed, standing up on his hind quarters as he more excitedly looked around the neighborhood. "Not very green here, is it?" He called back down before he leapt right off of the telephone pole. Rosemarie let out a startled scream as he landed heavily on the ground, making a few hops before he came to a stop and started looking up for something else to jump on top of.

"Hold it!" Rosemarie shouted, grabbing his arm and trying to hold him in place. Doran chuckled, beginning to walk around her in circles, dragging his host on her feet. What the heck? This guy is strong!

"Come on then, I want to see the neighborhood!" He grinned, dragging her with ease along with him down the sidewalk. "Anything good around here to look at, lass?" He asked, excitedly taking in the sights and sounds of everything around him.

"The park," Rosemarie suggests after a moment of thinking, "it's a good place to run. It's...greener there." At the mere mention of running, Doran visibly brightened.

"Good then! Let us head to the park then." He said, lightly jogging in place in his excitement as he visibly tried to calm his excitement. "Lead the way, lass!"

"Um, sure. It has a great scenery you might like." Rosemarie let out a pent up breath, finding herself relaxing as she began walking. However, seconds later, she had a heart attack when Doran suddenly jogged away from her at lightning speed. "DORAN!?"

"Meet you there, love!"

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE WAY, DORAN - COME BACK RIGHT NOW!"

* * *

"You were right, much greener here than the city," he said, trotting ahead of her down the sidewalk as he looked around at the trees, "not so many mountains out here, are there?" He asked, turning around to wait for Rosemarie to catch up.

"N-no, there isn't, sorry," she stopped right next to him, placing a hand on his arm, taking in a breath. "y-you run pretty fast…" Fast was an understatement.

"Course I do, lass! More fun than walking too slow." He teased as he hopped along the path and marveled at the trees surrounding him. "Where I grew up was mostly mountains and shrubbery, no trees really." He said as he slowed his pace again, waiting for Rosemarie to catch up. His ears started twitching as he turned around as some young men and women from the nearby high school jogged past them, many of them staring at Doran before they kept running, dogged after by their coach running behind them to make them speed up. "What is this?" Doran asked, trotting after them a small bit before turning around and returning to Rosemarie's side, "they part of a team or something then?"

"I think … they're running some miles as some gym class assignment," she said, a bit unsure. She doesn't really know what school they were from, and she actually attended school in Italy, not America. She only knew how American community colleges worked.

"Do all humans get along fairly well?" He asked, hovering over near her and walking rather close to her.

"That's...kind of a hard question to answer." Rosemarie scratched the back of her head, really unsure of how to answer that.

"How so?" Doran asked rather curiously. Rosemarie hummed in thought before opening her mouth, ready to answer her before one of the high schoolers finally decided to point out the goat Extraspecies.

"Oh my _GAWD_ is that a goat?!" Someone shouted, drawing their attention as they looked over at a multiracial band of adolescent teens heading their way. Rosemarie groaned, rolling her eyes. Really?

"Seriously?! That's _sick_!" A guy jumped in as they looked up at Doran, appearing to be admiring him as he circled the group of kids as well to get a better look at them.

"Top of the morning to you, laddies an' lassies! Where are you off to?" He asked with a friendly grin as they all laughed.

"Omigod he sounds so funny!" One of girls said as she pulled out her phone and quickly took some pictures. Rosemarie felt very uncomfortable, but Doran didn't seem to mind.

"What are those, plaid leggings?" Another laughed, sounding almost shocked as Doran continued to trot around them without a care for their pointing fingers at all.

"Shit, is that an actual bow and arrow?" Someone asked, reaching out and tugging on it as Doran took it in stride.

Oh those little frick fracks… "Hey! Aren't you guys apart of that gym class or something?" Rosemarie asked as she walked up to them with a harsh glare, "go on and catch up instead of gawking like a bunch of idiots!"

"Oh fuck off out of here, lady!" One of them said, brushing her off without a care. Instantaneously he was lifted into the air, startling him as Doran gave him a light toss away, making him stagger before catching himself.

"Be nicer to the lass, won't ya laddie? The lass here's ma host." Doran proudly grinned before tussling the young man's hair.

"Hey, fuck off you stupid goat!" The man snapped back, smacking Doran's arm away as he stood at ease still.

"Keep your hands to yourself, did your parents raise you like a pair of animals?" Rosemarie hissed, earning a pair of glares from the prissy teens. Might as well knock them off their high horses. She hoped Bay never grows up to be some prissy teen boy.

"Why don't you just mind your own business!" The student jogger growled back at her. His chest swelled in pride when his classmates rooted for him with nods and short comments. Rosemarie rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you should just keep on running, little boy." Rosemarie placed her hands on her hips. She felt very idiotic, making the situation escalate a bit more than it had to, but it bothered her with how easily this jogger was just making fun of Doran.

"Make me," The jogger growled as he approached Rosemarie, trying to intimidate her. As if he could, Rosemarie couldn't stop staring at his awful job of shaving. A patch of hair here, another there. Wow.

Before Rosemarie could even say anything, Doran stepped between the group and Rosemarie, using his thickly coated body as a shield before he swept Rosemarie right off her feet and into his arms.

"We can have ourselves a quarrel if you'd like later laddie, for now let's leg it!" He cheekily grinned before darting down the road, easily leaping over obstacles as his running consisted more of jumping.

She let out a shocked cry as they sped down the trail, feeling the speed of him just running getting to her."Doran! Slow down, slow down slow down slow down!"

"Calm down there, lass!" Doran heartily laughed, leaping up high onto a telephone poll before rather expertly balancing himself, "those boyos were fun, weren't they?" He asked with a cheerful grin before he leaned forward, leaping from pole to pole before they quickly reached home. With a small jump he landed on the sidewalk, shuffling Rosemarie around before setting her on her feet. "That was so much fun, lass! It's going to be happy here, I tell ya." He said, ruffling her hair a bit before going ahead and trotting inside the house. Ross's scream was heard not too short after, most likely mortified at finding the second Extraspecies to be a male as well.

"Th-That was Ross, wasn't it? Ah, crap…"

"What the hell is this?!" Ross shouted as Rosemarie stepped inside, seeing a surprised but still smiling Doran looking down at a flabbergasted and furious Ross.

"What is what?" Rosemarie asked as she tried to play it off coolly, but was obviously failing.

"Don't act like you don't know! Where the hell is the hot goat chick?!" He asked, directing his furiously shaking hand in Doran's direction as he was helping himself to Ross's sandwich without him noticing.

"Sorry, your majesty, but it looks like you aren't getting your...hot goat chick." Given an angry look from her spoiled older sibling, Rosemarie sighed, "bro, come on. Why are you so obsessed with getting a hot Extraspecies?"

Before he could angrily retort, Doran reared up behind him, hooking his front legs over his shoulders as Ross staggered, almost immediately taken down by the weight but he amazingly held Doran up with sheer luck.

"Mind giving me a rub down, laddie? I hear hosts are very good at petting." Doran asked with a happy grin as he finished off the sandwich with a cheerful smile. "Oh, and who's room am I staying in for the night? My room won't be done until tomorrow." He added on, letting up a bit and letting Ross stand up straight now but Doran kept his hooves crossed over Ross's chest, keeping him still.

"Get off of me! Guh!" Ross was frantically trying to shake him off, but Doran stayed on strong with that brilliant smile of his. "Rose! Tell him to get off!"

Rosemarie crossed her arms, staring at the furious face of Ross, and the happy expression on Doran's, "I don't think I should. Doran looks pretty happy-,"

"ROSE!"

"Maybe if you asked nicely, Doran would let you go himself," Rosemarie snapped as Ross stared at her with a shaken fury, noticeable by his quivering bottom lip.

"We'd be good pals, you an I." Doran smiled cheerfully, finally releasing his grasp without having to be directly asked. Ross stumbled forward shivering in apparent disgust as Doran trotted past him, taking a look at the hallway before the door opened, revealing Bay. The moment their gazes met, Bay gasped in excitement.

"Are you the new Extraspecies, Mr. Goat?!" He shouted, throwing his shoes and bag to the side as he ran up to him.

"And who might you be?" Doran asked, crouching down onto his knees before pulling Bay into a tight hug, lightly laughing as Bay tugged on his horn.

"That's so cool! Your horns are huge and curly!" Bay marveled as Doran stood up, setting Bay on his back as he gripped his fur, grinning happily. "Ross, Ross look! This is so cool!" He shouted as Doran trotted down the hallway, bouncing Bay wildly on his back as Doran grinned, clearly enjoying himself.

"Yeah, cool, cool," Ross half heartedly responded with no excitement whatsoever. Rosemarie struck a quick punch to his side, causing Ross to stand up straight, " _Yeah, so awesome_! _So cool_!" Rosemarie gave a quick nod and Ross scowled before heading to the front door, "I'm going to the mall or something. I don't wanna eat here."

Rude. "That's fine, I don't cook for meanies," Rosemarie shot back as Ross took a moment to look back at her with a scoff before he left, slamming the door behind him for good measures. How petty could he get? Rosemarie rolled her eyes.

"Seems like a bit of an eejit, ain't he?" Doran said as he hopped into the kitchen, clipping and clopping away with Bay bouncing on his back while loudly laughing and grabbing onto a line of fur along his spine.

"I have no idea what that word means, but yeah." Rosemarie said as she spotted the folder for Doran on the kitchen table. Ew, more to read. She hadn't even finished reading Matia's. "Where does the time fly? I didn't realize it was time for you to come home so soon, Bay. How was school?"

"It was great! Everyone was so excited when I told them I was a host!" Bay excitedly trilled, hugging Doran from behind as he stood up straight, letting the boy get his balance back.

"Really? That's nice," Rosemarie smiled as she hurried to the fridge, getting a look at the contents before closing it. Looks like Bay drank most of the juice boxes again. "Don't go bragging a lot, okay?"

"Can I have some juice?" He asked, seeing Rosemarie going through what remained of the juiceboxes in the fridge.

"You drank, like, seven of them yesterday, Bay. You'll be visiting Mr. Toilet all evening if you keep drinking that much," Rosemarie playfully notes as she reaches over and ruffles his hair.

"Pleeeeeease!" He begged, clasping his hands together in a begging motion.

Don't do the puppy eyes, Rosemarie found her eyes twitching. With her bearings and resolve, she finally found herself strong enough to overpower the infamous puppy eyes. "Bay, no. Drink some water."

A loud yawn from the hallway sounded as Matia entered the kitchen, appearing sleepy still. "That male screams awfully loud." He complained, stepping inside as he looked over to see Bay riding the newcomer. "Why was he screaming?" Matia asked, glancing between Bay and the fridge where the remains of the juice boxes he and Bay had yesterday were.

"He's been throwing a tantrum ever since he found out that the goat Extraspecies was a guy," Rosemarie snorted as Doran seemed to grin, as if Ross' predicament was hilarious.

"Hmm~ that so? Does that happen often?" Matia asked, tapping Rosemarie on the shoulder to make her pay him attention. When she looked away from the fridge, Matia's long slender tail wrapped around three of the juice boxes and withdrew them from the drawer.

"Well, yeah, he has this sort of thing where he thinks that since he's older, he can do what he wants," Rosemarie shrugs. Ross was also stubborn, and add those two awful personality traits of his together made it a pain to live with him. Bay didn't seem to be bothered by Ross, only when sharing the television and choosing whether they get to eat McDonalds or Chick-fil-a.

"How bothersome. The strongest is alpha, not the oldest." Matia miffed, holding his tail by Doran and Bay with the juice boxes.

"There anything we could do to change his mind about us?" Doran asked as he took an offered juicebox, giving one to Bay before Matia took one himself.

"Of course not; old habits die hard-," She said, pausing as she saw all three of them sipping on juice boxes while staring at her. "Bay Santini, Matia, and Doran. When did you slip those juice boxes out? When I said no, I mean no."

Doran and Bay pointed to Matia and the Basilisk pointed to the fridge with his tail, acting as though that answered her question simply enough. Rosemarie let out a heavy sigh, not having the strength to take the juice boxes back now that they were all already half empty anyway.

"I'm not buying any more juice for a week." She decided as punishment. Bay let out a gasp, clinging to his juicebox.

"Sissa, no! I'm sorry!" Bay cried as he took little sips to savor the flavor of the apple-cranberry juice box.

"I know you are, but what are they?" Nodding her head to the two Extraspecies, Rosemarie kept her poker face on. They didn't even have a look of regret, they just stared at her in confusion while sipping on the juice boxes. " … clearly not sorry at all."

"Nope." Matia stated, happily continuing sipping on his juicebox.

"Should I be, lass?" Doran asked, sounding confused.

Like a kettle screaming out steam, she brewed in her erupting anger. They are clearly thinking she was some kind of a joke, weren't they? "Excuse me? But when I say Bay cannot have any juice, he cannot have any juice! I would really appreciate it if you don't just hand him a juice after I said no." They're making her look like the bad guy in just a split second. She didn't appreciate that.

"I hear ya lass. I'll be more careful." Doran sighed, flickering his ear and sipping on his juice as he looked away, clearly not liking having been scolded. Matia did not answer and instead walked out of the kitchen, appearing to be ignoring her.

That's just disrespectful. Rosemarie merely gave Matia's retreating form a glance, placing her attention on Bay, who was looking at her with confused eyes.

"Sissa?" Bay called out and Rosemarie blinked out of a daze she didn't even remember slipping into. With that, her ice cold protection barrier that helped against the terror of a little boy's puppy eyes broke down and she was done for.

"I… fine. Drink the juice, I don't care." With that, Rosemarie stepped out of the kitchen, hurrying up the stairs to go straight to her room.

Bay let out a small whine, looking at the juice box in guilt. "I made Sissa mad…"

"I'm sure she won't be mad for very long, laddie," Doran assured the little tyke and Bay cheered up a bit.

"Do you like Transformers?"

* * *

The kitchen smelled heavenly of mushrooms, butter, and herbs. Rosemarie stood above the oven, her hands protected from the heat by a pair of old Christmas oven mitts, holding a big casserole dish. It looks about done. Placing it on the counter, she slipped off the oven mitts and placed it beside the glass dish. She was still mad, a bit humiliated, but mad nonetheless about the juice box incident hours ago.

Do they not know that she was the only one looking after Bay? Did they know that he wets the bed if he drank too much juice? Rosemarie didn't feel like scrubbing stains out of white sheets for hours again. She huffed out in frustration, getting the plates from the cupboard and set the table with ease from the years she done it. Ross was supposed to set the table, as he was assigned it by their grandparents, but he was always pinning it on her as he never showed up for dinner or even tried to do it. Lazy.

"Bay! Doran! Matia! Dinner!" Rosemarie called out loudly, grabbing a spatula and began serving one normal helping of the casserole, followed by two giant servings of it. She had another casserole cooking, knowing that they probably wouldn't be full with this. She glazed over her notepad that sat on the kitchen bench nearby. Matia's meal plan noted that he could eat small portions every day, but every three to four days he needed to eat quite a bit of fruits and meaty foods like bugs or raw meat. Doran's meal plan showed the goat Extraspecies can eat every day of the usual vegetables and raw meat. It would be fairly easy to figure out what types of food she'd have to prepare, but remembering when Matia's big meal days were would be a small pain in the butt.

"Dinner?" Matia asked, poking his head around the corner first as he sniffed the air, flicking his tongue out as he drew closer and sniffed the casserole directly. "Ah, I forgot. You humans must eat everyday to sustain yourselves." Matia noted.

"We eat three times a day. You haven't told me when your last feeding day was, but I read you can eat small amounts," Rosemarie admits as she wondered if he was going to go back to his room in silence. He's done it every time since he arrived, so she decided to get used to it.

"Everything you need to know is in the paperwork, Ms. Host. You'd learn an awful lot." He teased with a smile, surprising her by going to the table and taking a seat, sipping on his water.

Bay came bounding down the hall, hurrying into the dining room and taking his seat. In a split second she heard Doran clicking into the room, eyes on the plate that hasn't been claimed.

"Eat up," Rosemarie said as she left a pitcher of water on the table. Before any of them could say anything, she left to the kitchen and returned with the leftover juice boxes, almost slamming them onto the table. "Enjoy," she says through clenched teeth as she returns to the kitchen, turning the oven off and leaving to the living room. Sitting down at the couch with a tupperware of her share of the food waiting on the coffee table, she grabs it and barely eats much of it as she focuses on the folders that was left by Ms. Smith.

Let's see ... so Matia is a Basilisk? Never heard of it. She glanced through the summary of a Basilisk, curious.

" _The name basilisk comes from the Greek basileus, which means king. The basilisk was the King of the snakes and the most poisonous creature on earth. His appearance has always been a matter of dispute since there is no way to see a basilisk and survive. Looking at it, according to legend, brings death_."

... well, that's not creepy at all. All it took was a stare? That's a joke; it probably just means that he's venomous. Rosemarie curiously read a little deeper. A snake, huh? He didn't look like a snake; more like a lizard really. She's almost shook from her spot when a shadow looms over her from behind.

"Do humans not eat together as a unit?" Matia asked, plucking the packet right out of Rosemarie's hands and holding it out of her reach as he stared at her.

"Uh, what?" Did she hear him right? "Didn't you just ask me to read the documents? This is like the only time I'll get to read it. Now give it." Leaving the casserole on the table, she stands up from the uncomfortable couch and faced him with her hand held out, wanting the documents.

"If I'm going to be hosted by the proper sort of humans that deserve to host an Extraspecies then I expect them to adhere to human customs. I am here to learn about humans and I'm going to get just that through this program. Now sit with your family unit; you may read on your own time." He said, tossing the documents back onto the couch before pushing her towards the dining table.

She wanted to argue with him so badly but the second Bay spotted them, the boy beamed so brightly Rosemarie felt blinded. Without a word, she took a seat next to Bay as Matia took his seat once more.

Dinner carried on with Bay excitedly holding a conversation with Doran the entire time, with Matia taking a part of it when he was spoken to or if he had something to say. Rosemarie sat in her chair, leaning on the table as she listened to the entire conversation. It was mostly Bay blabbing about his favorite things, such as Transformers, Spiderman, chicken nuggets... Sometimes Bay would ask about their favorite things, and they would respond with Doran saying archery and Matia saying reading. Several times Bay would glug down his juice before continuing to yammer on and on, almost gargling his words.

Doran once or twice chirped that the casserole tasted wonderful, while Matia simply asked why there was no meat. That only made Rosemarie roll her eyes playfully, but quickly made a reminder on her phone to go grocery shopping. Finally, while carrying the dirty dishes, two empty casserole dishes and the many empty juice boxes to the sink, she turned to look at Bay, "make sure to finish your homework, Bay."

"Aw but I wanna watch TV," Bay whimpered as he almost bolted from his seat to the stairs when Rosemarie turned around to give him this stern look, "I'm gonna do my homework! Bye bye."

"What is a homework? Could I taste it?" Matia asked, puzzled as his ears twitched at every step Bay took up the stairs.

"I don't think you can, laddie. We got 'homework' in those classes, remember?"

"Ah, right. Boring," Matia said as he stretched himself out with a sighing groan. They both glanced the kitchen where Rosemarie donned yellow rubber gloves, scrubbing away at the dishes. The dull sounds of plates and eating utensils cluttering together in the soapy suds filled their ears. Rosemarie stopped, glancing back to them with a confused look. It grew silent as Rosemarie slowly turned her head away from them, before Matia glanced his head to Doran. "Do you like movies?"

"I'll give it a listen, lad."

* * *

' _You may read at your own time'_ , Rosemarie mockingly chanted in her head as she flipped a page over. The tiny red numbers of her digital watch glared out that it was a quarter 'til four in the morning. With several essays and homework done late into the night after tucking a precious little boy into bed after four bedtime stories, she finally got around to reading the documents.

Trying to memorize Matia's feeding days, along with the formulas to solving physics, Rosemarie continuously felt as though someone was stuffing cotton inside of her skull that was suffering a pounding headache. The reading glasses resting on the bridge of her nose irritated her at every second that the lamp next to her in the living room was not providing enough light. Her bed sounded rather enticing, wanting her to stop reading and go straight to sleep.

As much as she loved to stop reading about the origins of the Basilisk species and fall asleep on the bed, the same bed she had lent the Goat Extraspecies to use for the night, she didn't want to once again tell Matia she didn't finish reading and earn that knowing look. It already put salt on the wound that Bay was adoring the Extraspecies.

 _I'm tired… I want to sleep._

As she finished the documents, finding herself forgetting all the formulas she had once memorized for next week's quiz, Rosemarie glanced at her watch, finding the red numbers to mock her while she leaves the living room.

6:48 A.M.

There was no point in sleeping when she had classes at 9 in the morning. Knowing that she still had Doran's document to read, it fills her with dread. She heads to the bathroom to get her morning routine done, as she hadn't showered the previous day.

A cold shower didn't seem to help at all, and as she got dressed with her backpack ready, she headed to Bay's room to wake the boy up at 7:10 AM. He wasn't there, and though she panicked, she immediately knew where he was.

The boy was dead asleep when she found Matia and Bay in the Basilisk's room, the TV still playing some movie. She knew it. She _knew_ it.

"Matia, _why_?" She asked, absolutely exhausted, and she wondered if it was worth it as he couldn't really see. There was a bowl empty, probably popcorn, and many empty bottles of juice - _her_ juice - scattered around them. She picked up Bay, spying the sticky juice around the corner of his lips, "Matia, he can't stay up on a _school_ night!"

Rosemarie didn't even wait for his response as she walked out, barely succeeding in waking up the sluggish boy.

With giving the boy a bath and then making him breakfast while putting together a lunch box, Rosemarie felt her energy drain away by the second. "Bay, I thought I told you not to stay up watching movies with Matias?" Rosemarie tried not to whine as Bay munched away at the toast, exhausted.

"I'm sleepy … ," Bay said, tottering in his seat his his eyes bloodshot and sunken in from having watched so many movies.

"Of course you are. This is what happens when you stay up very late twice in a row," Rosemarie scolded. She hated nagging, but it always comes out when stuff like this happens. Bay sleepily glanced to her, looking exhausted, and she was as well. Rosemarie felt like she was backed into a corner, especially when Doran came in, looking absolutely refreshed and chipper.

"Top of the mornin' to ya both," Doran happily greeted, fully awake and rearing to go before his eyes fell on the tired Bay. Concern bloomed in Doran's eyes as he turned to Rosemarie, "what happened to the little chiseler?"

"I... ," she felt like she was being judged. Trying to contain her rage, she grabbed the lunch box and tucked it away in the fridge. "You're not going to school, Bay. Come on, back to bed."

Bay was too sleepy to respond as she lifted him from the chair, carrying him out of the kitchen.

"Oh, no school? Hey, Bay, why don't we watch some more movies?" Matia said as he popped his head from around the corner with a happy smile, seeing Rosemarie carry the boy past him. His ears twitched, hearing Bay's tired groaning, "what's wrong with the little human? Is he sick?" Matia asked, trotting up to her as he flicked his tongue out towards the boy to try and taste if he was ill.

"He's not sick. He's _exhausted_ ," Rosemarie responded as she carried her little brother to his bedroom. The second Bay's head touched the pillow, he was out like a light. Tucking him in, she placed a kiss on his head before shutting off the lights. Leaving the room, she faced Matia, "when I said that children were fragile, did you think I said it as a _joke_?"

"No?" He said, tilting his head in confusion, "I don't understand what I did wrong. All we did was watch movies." He said as he folded his arms, scrunching his face up in confusion.

"Matia … as harmless as movie watching sounds, it's taking away precious hours of sleep that children like Bay needs," Rosemarie exhaustedly explained and when Matia continued to look confused, she just wanted to cry, "children need a lot of hours to sleep. Letting him stay up at night, to watch movies up until 3 or 4 in the morning, will make him exhausted and maybe sick. He won't focus in school or be able to play with his friends at recess. He needs to sleep regularly now, _please_." She didn't mean to sound desperate, "no more late night movie films on a school night."

"Hmm … I never realized humans were such high maintenanced." He said, sounding rather troubled, "so you humans need sleep _every_ night?" He asked, tilting his head a bit.

"Yes, we do," Rosemarie answered, trying to stay patient. "At least, Bay does. He needs his full ten hours of sleep. Children need to sleep and eat right, or they won't grow up healthy." This was starting to sound like a health class. Did Matia not know that children required a lot of sleep?

" … the more I get to know about humans, the more startled I am to accept the fact you are an apex predator." He said with a heavy sigh, looking away from her in pity.

"Well I'm sorry that I fail to meet your expectations, Matia. It looks like we're going to be learning a lot about each other." Her patience was running thin, but she was grateful that it didn't match her tone, "but please, don't do this late night movie watching on a school night. Friday and Saturdays are…fine." Rosemarie didn't want to seem strict, and despite the fact that she wanted to ban late night movie watching, she knew that Bay would complain.

"Hmm … I should start trying to rearrange my sleeping schedule, then. I want to be awake while you humans are so I can better understand you." He said as his tail twitched back and forth.

She felt her breath escape her in surprise. Well … that was unexpectedly kind of him to say. Rosemarie did not know what to say to that. She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm her quaking headache.

"Thank you…" she barely let out.

" … I think you too should rest. You smell exhausted." He said, leaning closer to her before flicking his tongue out, tapping it against her cheek.

"How can you even smell or taste exhaustion?" She bitterly laughed before hurrying past him, "I have class in an hour, I don't have time to sleep, Matia."

"Bay is sleeping now and missing class, isn't he?" Matia asked, his face directed towards her.

"Well, his school and my school are different." She said as she walked straight to the living room, with her books all over the coffee table. She shoved them back into her backpack, making sure her wallet and keys were inside.

"So what makes him able to rest but you can't?" Matia asked with a tilt of his head.

Rosemarie shrugged on her backpack, grabbing her phone from the couch and went to the kitchen, finding some leftover lasagna from two nights ago in the fridge. She popped it in the oven, turning it on high. Doran happened to be there, and she passed him an apple while getting herself a bottle of water and a banana to eat on the run to school.

"I'm your host. I can rest on my own time," Rosemarie said as she checked the pasta. A bit warm. She hesitated in wondering if she should just pull it out, but decided to just leave it in. "Make sure to take it out in half an hour and eat it." They probably would forget, so she grabbed her phone and texted Ross to turn off the oven around thirty minutes if he was home. Just in case, she lowered the temperature. "Don't let the house burn down. See you in a couple of hours."

With her small breakfast in her hands, she hurried to the door, opening it and nearly jumping back when the door slammed close as soon as it was opened. Shocked, she glanced over and saw that Matia had closed it.

"You need to rest."

Doran's hands grasped her waist, snatching her up into the air. "He's right, little lassie. It's okay to bunk on your class."

Rosemarie protested as he carried her to her bedroom, seeing the legs of her broken and the bed slanting. She didn't even know what to say, of whether to demand him to put her down or to yell at him of what on earth he did to her bed. She almost gasped when he just dropped her on the bed and shoved the comforter over her. "Ack! Doran stop!"

"Your bed took a beating last night. The legs didn't support my weight, but you're quite knackered so I'm pretty sure you won't care too much." Doran patted the comforter as Rosemarie groaned.

"I really appreciate your concern, really…" Rosemarie shifted in her spot on the bed, trying to escape the prison of sheets, "but I swear I can go to class. So just…" Every time she shoved the blanket off of her, Doran shoved them right back, "Dora-aah!"

Matia had scurried into the room and settled himself on top of the slanted bed, nearly pushing out the oxygen in her lungs when the bed's remaining legs snapped off at the sudden added weight, causing the bottom of the bed to hit the floor. Rosemarie wheezed as Matia huffed, apparently not concerned with the completely broken bed.

"You're resting."

"It's my job to take care of you, you know." Rosemarie grumbled before reaching out to pat Matia's head. "Fine, fine. I'll go to sleep. Just, get off of me. You're really heavy."

"I don't believe you. Just make do for now," Matia huffs, almost childishly, as he refused to get off of her. "I expect once you wake up to get several pettings and a scale polish session for making me take on the role of the host."

"Same here, love!" Doran said as he trotted around the bed, picking a good spot to lean on the floor mattress, grinning at her. "It shouldn't be hard to make sure you get some extra sleep. Come on, shut them peepers closed."

Oh come on. Rosemarie groaned at the heavy shifting weight on top of her. This is so weird with having this Basilisk man on top of her. "Matia get off, come on! You're heavier than Ross, oh my gosh!" When he made no move to get off of her, she let her head hit the pillow. There's no way she can sleep with something so heavy on her. At least she thought, but when her heavy eyelids began to flutter close, she nearly zonked out immediately.

...and then she woke up to the smell of smoke.

Her eyes snapped open as she tried to sit up, only to find Matia dozing off on top of her. "Matia?! Smoke! I smell smoke! The house is on fire! Get off! Bay! Bay!"

"Hm…?" Matia lazily tilted his head towards her as she struggled against him. It made her scream that this dummy lizard slowly rolled off of her and she almost fell over the ground, tangled up in the comforter. How many did he layer onto her? She's literally caterpillar crawling out the door, trying to make her way to the kitchen, where the smoke was coming from.

"AGH! No one turned off the oven?" Rosemarie nearly shouted through smoked irritated eyes, scrambling and crawling to the kitchen as fast as she could, finding Doran at the oven, trying to figure out the dials on the oven. He noticed her and gave her this big smile, not even noticing the fact that the house could have caught on fire.

"Miss Host, did you get enough sleep? You were barely sleeping for an hour. By the way, how do you make it stop smoking?" Doran asked as he pointed to the smoking oven.

Rosemarie could barely say anything when they heard small footsteps running down the stairs. "Fire! Fire!" Bay cried as a splash of water landed on Rosemarie. She was soaked to the bone, eyes widen with shock and fully awake, spying the empty little bucket in Bay's hands. Bay looked at her, and she looked back at him, before dropping the bucket, "oops."

Rosemarie didn't get to say anything when she was rudely interrupted the second time with Ross barging into the kitchen, hair damp from showering and a toothbrush in his hands, "where's the fire?!" His eyes spotted Doran at the smoking oven, "what the heck?! Where you trying to cook or trying to burn the house down, goat?! Turn it off!"

Rosemarie's fist shot out, hitting Ross right in the stomach, and he doubled over as she freed herself from the soaked blanket prison. It swirled around her, landing on the floor like a torn cape from battle, and she walked up to the oven, showing Doran how to turn it off. Doran's eyes followed her as her hand left the dial, reaching for the Christmas oven mitts and she opened it, letting out a big cloud of smoke out. Doran stepped back as Rosemarie reached in and pulled out the casserole pan of the charred leftovers.

Ross groaned, rubbing his stomach in pain before his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when Rosemarie presented the charcoal disaster in front of him.

"Your dinner, you eejit."

* * *

 **MissReaperDeath** : You have no idea how much research I had to do on my own about lizard feeding times, irish slang, and other things. I am so out of touch with common knowledge of the human body that I had to literally look up how much sleep a child needs. I'm honestly typing this at almost one in the morning on my bed, wishing I could just go to sleep but I still got other stories to work on.

Please check out the collaboration story between **peekodemeeko12** and **chaos-dark-lord** 's story, _ALWAYS READ THE FREAKING CONTRACT._

It's really good, I promise!

Please review!


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